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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Miller Stevens Papers and Riddells Is there A Link?

In my work for the Lost Treasures Committee of the San Diego Genealogical Society, I just finished a lengthy inventory of the Jedidiah Miller and Jonas Stevens papers of Steubin County, NY.

I have some of my own Captain John Riddle or Riddell and Lephe Gates ancestors from Chenango Twp. in Steubin County, NY

I found a Henry Bull (mentioned in Miller exhibit 10 and 12 as a Medical Doctor), of the Lost Treasures documents, buried in the same cemetery as Lephe Maria (nee Riddell) who married Ruel Crumb and who is also daughter of Lephe Gates my ancestor.

It will be interesting to see what else pops up in Steubin County, NY!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

William Edward Friend photos

I am trying to place two photos one is of William Edward Friend and the other is of his wife Fanny Friend (nee Hunter). They both appear in the 1910 census and 1920 census, in both years they lived on Vine Street in Riverside. I just placed pictures from the Banta family with the Sonoma State University archives and wonder if William Edward Friend and Fanny Hunter are related in some way to the Banta family. I am seeking to donate the photos to a descendent in the direct line of William Edward and Fanny nee Hunter Friend. I emailed one person from RootsWeb whose information matched what I discovered on the Friend family.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

More Lost Treasures Work and online classes

I updated the Lost Treasures website with more Treasures from the San Diego Genealogical Society. I am working on a binder of letters to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Milton, Washington and two photos of Ed and Fanny Friend.

I am taking two online classes one is a Memoir writing class and the other is a Photo Shop Elements class. They are taking alot of time but I am really learning alot from them.

Computer Problems and Solutions

I just finished almost a month long headache! I unistalled Norton Antivirus and installed another security virus system and I could not access the Internet, I could not get any downloads for updates for computers, I could not update the Lost Treasures website.
I spent two hours on tech support with my DSL provider and another two hours on tech support for my new virus security system. If you ever uninstall Norton Antivirus please use this program: http://www.symantec.com/symnrt (Norton Security removal tool). If you only use the Windows uninstaller program your internet access may be blocked too! Thanks Best Buy Geek Squad for the advice!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Edna Banta Munford Photo Collection Donated to Sonoma State University

Last week I sent the Edna Banta Munford collection of 120 photographs to Sonoma State University. There were several related lines included, Banta/Simmons/Wyatt/Phinney were the main surnames. My favorite photo was of James Simmons who was a fireman for the LA fire department, possibly Long Beach. I emailed the firehouse museum there but nobody replied.
Lloyd Simmons of Sonoma and his family were the subjects of half of the photos. There were two pictures of him in his Pharmacy/general store in Sonoma. I worked on these all summer and am glad to see them go to an accessable archives.

Miscell. Documents Inventoried, Listed here

The following documents have been inventoried by the Lost Treasures Committee for the San Diego Genealogical Society and are ready to be donated to a direct descendant or a regional archives. (The wills can be donated to an indirect descendant)

Vital Records
  • Sharon Leigh: Baptismal Certificate (1976) San Diego, CA
  • Bergin/Brockman: Marriage Certificate and Will Probate
  • Wright/Shield: Marriage document
  • Nelson Fish and Lulu James: copy of marraige certificate (June 1869)
  • Holland William Campbell and Lola Lean Brashear (Dec 13, 1949): original marriage certificate (San Diego, CA)
  • Diane Ruth Tunis: Baby book with genealogy: related surnames: Dysart, Hill, West Munday of Van Nuys, Los Angeles County, CA
  • Arthur A. De Titta death certificate copy, Riverside County (death date 17 May 1992): other names mentioned: Mother was Rose Truncellilo ot Italy and wife was Helen (nee Hurt) De Titta. Cameraman for 20th Century Fox
WILLS
  • These wills are all from San Diego:
  • Will of Rachel Wegeforth (1961)Will and instructions of Nell Grant Cronan (1929-1930)
  • Will of Ellen Robb and the will of her daughter Frances M. Robb (Jan 14, 1959)
  • Will of Charles Christianson (July 7, 1967)
BOOKS:
  • Stam Register der Familie Lendeke: Possibly of Hamburg Germany, written in German (1898)
  • Schwab Family History (written in German)(1886)
MISCELL. DOCUMENTS
  • Mildred Bergin: Passport (1926)
  • Marion Thompson Ogden: British Passport (1950) El Cajon, CA
  • Sue Lovell: Letters to the Milton Methodist Episcopal Church, Milton Washington, regarding the 25th anniversary celebration of Church: most of the letters are addressed to Dr. Ethel M. Short, Tacoma Washington
  • David Whitten: High School Diploma (June 1984)
  • F. Johnston Day: Masters Degree of Philosophy from University of Divine Science in Seattle, Washington (1940)
  • DAR Certificate Edna Estelle Van Orsdall Craig of Colorado for Conrad Hogmire (Revolutionary War ancestor)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Dutch Origins, My Genealogical Writing Project

I am writing a genealogy of female line in Kramer/DeYoung/ Nauta/Dahlberg/Sankey family. So far I have completed the first chapter on Susan DeYoung (Sietske DeJong in Dutch). The chapter includes her parish Sint Jacobeparichie, Het Bilt, Friesland, Netherlands and her subsequent immigration and life in Racine, Racine County, WI. I am researching several books acquired from local universities to see if I am able to gain more insight into immigration from Friesland. I want to add insight to develop a sense of place but I don't want to be to wordy.

Bergin/Brockman and Gulick photo research

One of the SDGS Lost Treasures talented researchers, Bonnie Fago is tackling the research of our photos from the Bergin/Brockman and Grover Gulick families. She has some good leads for direct descendants.

Time for more Inventory of our collection

Just when I thought we have inventoried all of our photos... I just found some more! We also have some miscell. documents which need to be inventoried, scanned and put on the SDGS Lost Treasures website .
We also have two binder volumes of original documents with records listed on fading (photostat..purple paper) which need to be transcribed. Our Raw Notes files have some original documents and photos as well.

Assisting SDGS with the San Diego Genweb site

I was asked by the SDGS president last week to assist in a redesign of the San Diego Genweb website.

Status of Banta and Simmons photos

Due to the large number of photos from the Banta family and related surnames. I am attempting to donate them to the UC Riverside Special Collection archives (which requires a gift deed). Sonoma State University, Special Collection seemed interested in the Simmons related photos and I am in the process of figuring out an estimate for postage required to send the photos. I have been told that I can get the library rate from the USPS.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

My personal Genealogy Research Graham and Rose

I have been in contact with another Washington County, PA researcher who thinks that there is a possibility that her Aneas Graham was related to my DeWitt Clinton Graham. I am also looking for Joseph Rose (also of Washington County, PA - Monongahela twp:) who might have been the father of DeWitt's mother Elizabeth Rose. DeWitt Clinton Graham was a Civil War vet. he later moved to Ohio.

Banta Photos up on Lost Treasures Website

I completed the thumbnails for photos in our Edna nee Banta Munford inventory and posted them on the temporary (Until September) home for our Lost Treasures Committee Website:
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/photos.html
Send inquiries regarding these photos or larger format photo requests to:

The San Diego Genealogical Society
mailto:SDGSinfo@yahoo.com

The surnames included in the photos are mostly Banta and Simmons.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Frustration with FTP posting and Net Objects Fusion

Singing the Website Blues
I am trying to create a website for the Lost Treasures Committee. I have one up on a free site but the banner ads and pop-up ads are terrible. Using Net Objects Fusion I tried to import it onto my website on Rootsweb but it dropped a level of pages! I am not sure why. Then I tried to import it onto my tripod site but it would not bring over the graphics. I give up for today!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Banta Photos, Legacy 7.0 tutorial, Julian visit




I visited the Pioneer Cemetery Julian, California yesterday! We ascended "boot hill" where the oldest cemetery is located. I wanted to find out if anyone has published a book on who is buried there but the Julian Museum is not open during the week. I guess I could have gone to the library but I was overheating and needed to get inside out of the sun!

I am still plugging away at those Banta Photos. I can't wait to get them scanned and up on the Lost Treasures website! I really want to get them into the hands of the Banta descendant from the Arizona State Genealogical society.

I just received my Legacy 7.0 tutorial book. I can can look at a map of my ancestors and there are some new search features I need to figure out how to use. I suppose my biggest problem is that I have most of my genealogical data in a page with footnote format (sources are with in the text) so I have to figure out how to resolve that problem.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Post SCGS Jamboree

I just returned from the SCGS Jamboree. I was delighted to see Bill Dollarhide because I heard he had been in the hospital right before Jamboree. Sixteen members from our genealogical society went up on the train to Burbank and stayed at the Burbank Marriott for the weekend. We attended several classes. I went to a blogging class and summit, cemetery research, church records, finding living relatives, Ohio wills, Intro to Footnote and Intro to Ancestry. My brain is full! I installed Legacy 7.0 today. The new version has a mapping feature and SourceWriter that I have to master as soon as I get the book that I bought with it. (They ran out at Jamboree)
I picked up some of Dollarhide's books I hope to use some of the archive sources to help my fellow Lost Treasure Committee members at the SDGS. I have plenty to read and ponder!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Genealogical Organization, My Own Research

I have been working on filing new documents. I have a numbering system I use to track the documents. I used to make a table of contents for each surname and record type and then put it on Legacy but now I put it on Legacy first so that I can keep track of where I left off in my research. I use the Chicago Manual of style format with footnotes that list my sources.

Lately, I have found a nice clean time line to be invaluable for tracking my family. I have one for each surname instead of one for each individual so I can track them as a group. I track collateral lines because people often traveled as family groups pre 1900.

Ah....The elusive Ward family: I have found five different Ward families in Lynchburg, VA; none of which I found was Edward Ward b. 1800. Family stories seem to point to Lynchburg. Edward possibly married Margaret Miller in Allegheny County, MD abt. 1825. I amassed a lot of information on the Ward family there and would be willing to share it with anyone who is interested. I did find an Edward Ward in Wheeling, WV (along the National Road into OH from MD) but this Edward's birth date did not match. The census shows Edward in Putnum County, OH in 1830 and later in Ashland County, OH with son Joel.

gs

Lost Treasures SDGS

Today I received a reply for the Banta/Simmons photos I have been researching for the society. The person who replied was a direct descendant. I am thrilled! I still have "loose" photos to inventory for the Lost Treasures department.

I am waiting for an appraisal for some other photos that the society may or may not keep.

I am looking forward to going to the So Cal Genealogical Society's Jamboree in Burbank at the end of next week. Last year I learned some really good techniques for researching old photos that I applied to my work for the Lost Treasures Committee.

I am also trying to work on a Lost Treasures portion of the SDGS website using Net Objects Fusion.

Friday, June 6, 2008

San Diego Genealogical Society Lost Treasures

I am working of several different projects for the Lost Treasures Committee. I am trying to assemble Family Bible scans and pdf files into a "Lost Treasures" website. The photograph inventory is about half way done and I am working on the following families and looking for the next of kin or archive in the nearest locality to the families.

Banta/Simmons of Ohio>Iowa>Bakersfield, CA
Purl Wyatt family of Riverside, CA and San Diego, CA

At the Society we have three file cabinets full of "Raw Notes" notes from member's family research that they have donated. There is apparently a "Banta" file there. One of the committee members thought that there may be a relationship between the Banta/Simmons family and the Wyatt family. I have not yet found any evidence of that.

Due to a new discoveries of original and copies of vital records in the Raw Notes (we are compiling information for a future online database) it looks like the Lost Treasures Committee will be busier than we originally thought!

GS.